The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Photo of Mae Burke, Eithne Coyle and Linda Kearns, Cumann na mBan revolutionaries, taken shortly after they escaped from a British POW camp in Carlow, Ireland 1921

I’m not quite sure if the political establishment in Ireland is embarrassed, ashamed or terrified by the 2016 centenary of the Irish Revolution but there is definitely something amiss in the way they are reacting to the approaching anniversary of the Easter Rising of 1916. After four years of stonewalling from various representatives of the Fine Gael-Labour coalition the emergence of widespread public disquiet has finally forced some action by the government. However the actions witnessed so far seem just as bad, or possibly worse, than the months of prevarications that preceded them.

To say that Fine Gael and Labour Party politicians are reluctant to celebrate the establishment of their own state is to put it mildly. Several government minsters and TDanna have perfected a form of rhetorical moonwalking when it comes to discussing the most appropriate way to commemorate the Easter Rising; retreating backwards from every conversation while seemingly moving forward. It is truly a wondrous thing to behold: sweat-browed politicos shimmying under the public spotlight. That is not to say that some FG and Labour folk don’t have a direct family link to the events of April 1916. They may well have had great-grandparents “out” during the insurrection. Though given the hesitancy and evasion one might wonder the colour of their uniforms: serge green or khaki brown?

“A video published last night to mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising has been criticised for not including any mention of the uprising or of the executed signatories of the Proclamation.

The 80 second promotional video – titled Ireland Inspires 2016 – was published to coincide with the launch last night of the 2016 Centenary programme at the GPO.

A second version of the video updated on the ireland.ie website this afternoon features a lingering shot of a copy of the Proclamation set against a photograph of a burnt-out GPO.

Both videos feature footage of prominent figures including Ian Paisley, Queen Elizabeth, Bono, David Cameron and Bob Geldof but other than a brief glimpse of the proclamation document at the beginning of the newly-updated video, at no point are Pádraig Mac Piarais, James Connolly or indeed any of the other executed 1916 leaders mentioned in the piece.

Publication of the video last night was met with a largely negative reaction…

Both versions of the video feature references to social media companies Facebook and LinkedIn that have established operations in Ireland in recent years.”

Turns out 1916 was actually about the Queen, Cameron, Facebook, Google, Twitter… An insight into establishment minds. #irelandinspires

“The official Ireland 2016 website has also been criticised after translations of texts, including an excerpt from the 1916 Proclamation, were found to closely resemble translations processed by online translating tool Google Translate.

Several excerpts match results processed by Google Translate, including grammatical errors and errors in punctuation.”

“…the mistake happened because the Department sent the English text to an external company which was contracted to design the website.

That company used Google Translate to get a draft, or holding, version of the Irish text to appear on the page to see how much space it would require, thus enabling the company to design around it.

That draft version should have been replaced by the official Irish translation which was later supplied by the Department.

This did not happen when the website first went live, but the offending text has now been removed and replaced by the official and correct Irish version.”

Yes, because there is a dearth of web-design companies in Ireland with Irish-speaking employees who could have made such a translation (you couldn’t throw a stone in an IT seminar in Dublin without hitting an Irish-speaker!). However we are not finished yet. For who heaves into view but Ivana Bacik, the Labour Party’s consolation-prize seat-warmer in Seanad Éireann, with this message in the Irish Times:

“The parade to commemorate the centenary of the Rising in 2016 should not be over-militaristic, Labour Senator Ivana Bacik has said. “I was very struck when I watched the parade in 2006, which was the last time there was a full military parade,’’ she added. “I found it troubling.’’

Ms Bacik said she felt at that time the Rising was being commemorated in a way that seemed almost to celebrate the military and weapons. “It made me uncomfortable,’’ she added.”

“Ivana Bacik (Lab) said she welcomed the “positive news’’ that Ireland had been invited to participate in the British Armistice day event and that the Irish ambassador would lay a wreath at the Cenotaph in London next month.”

“A GROUP REPRESENTING relatives of those who took part in the 1916 Rising have boycotted the launch of the Government’s series of commemoration events.

The 1916 Relatives Association dismissed tonight’s event at the GPO as “stunt politics”.

The group said they have “no confidence” in Arts Minister Heather Humphreys, after she “clearly demonstrated she had no understanding as to the plans for 2016″ at a meeting yesterday.

The association said that they were unhappy when details of the planned events reported in the media today differed from what a senior official from Humphrey’s department had told them yesterday.

Una McNulty, a spokesperson for the association, said that its members felt like they had only been invited to tonight’s event “merely to act as pawns in a political stunt that wants us there simply as a photo opportunity”.”

The problem with an unfinished revolution is that sooner or later people may get it into their heads to finish it. Which may in part explain the nervousness of the Irish continuity state. As for myself? Well… Viva La Revolución!

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10 comments

Ian Paisley, Queen Elizabeth, Bono, David Cameron and Bob Geldof? Wow, they listed and showed all the major contributors to Irish Independence. Will they have a British Army Parade in Dublin to commemorate the event? That way we can avoid the Irish “militarism” and be “presentable and civilised” in the eyes of the world. Oh yes and, of course, let’s play “God save the Queen” as “The Soldier’s Song” once again just has too much militarism in it. Should show our main economic contributors and trade partners just how friendly we are. Pleóid air, maybe we can even have everyone wave little Union Jacks…Táimid suas crompán an cac gan chéasla.

From the gud olde BBC.
“…….t cost the lives of 450 people – more than half of whom were civilians – and resulted in widespread destruction of much of the Irish capital’s inner city….”

Hmm..What caused the destruction of much of Irish Capitals city?
It wasn’t the Brits Was it? with HMS Helga the gunboat on the liffey.
The British media are a joke they never admit to British atrocities.
Whereas the Irish are cringing over the freedom fighters who resisted these brutal barbarian British and their jackboot.
How come the Brits aren’t embarrased by it all.
And also..How was Dublin Ireland’s capital city in 1916? The brits abolished the parliament in Dublin in 1801..So Dublin wasn’t the capital of anything in 1916.
Another schoolboy error of the Brit media.

I detest football.
But I was listening to the BBC news reporting over the FIFA report into corruption.
Fifa said the English FA were corrupt in their manoeurvings to do with the English bid.
But the BBC have been at pains to make the story into a dispute between FIFA and the lawyer who made the FIFA report.
Rather than investigate any corruption on the English FA report.
And all this because England failed to win the bid because of some Johnny foreigners.
The English mind is truly perverse.
It involves shameless hypocrisy and turning a blind eye to their own misdeeds while reporting on Johnnny Foreigner as a swarthy untrusthworthy fellow.
The Irish should quit boot being boot lickers of the Brits and just mark this anniversary with their head held high..and stuff the begrudgers.
The Brits make no apolgises for the 100th anniversary of WW1 ( which was an imperialist con job ) So why are the Irish politicians and eejits hand wringing over 1916..They make Ireland look weak and lily livered.

I always find it interesting that people – including our wily Sionnach Rua? – consider that a “translation” seems to be required. Why? Is there nobody in the civil service who can write a word of Irish or must it alway be a translation of something written in the language of our colonial past?

As someone tweeted earlier today “..Ar ndóigh ní aistriúchán is ceart a bheith ar bun pé scéal, ach téacs oiriúnach a bheith á scríobh san dá theanga…” (A translation is not really required but rather a suitable text written in the two languages!)

Indeed some of the wording of the current “translation” is questionable. Not many people would translate the “United Nations” (in the English version) for the “European Union.” (in the Irish Version).

Truly shameful and embarrassing to witness ‘irish’ people attempting to downplay their history. I think it is becoming obvious that the English have continually maintained a vested interest in the 26 counties even though they handed the reins over to the natives years ago. It’s no wonder the free state establishment are panicking that the ‘dirty black northerners’ could upset the status quo in the near future; it could upset their cosy kow towing relation it has with the London regime.

Reblogged this on diaga language and commented:
An excellent post on the utterly shambolic attempts of the current government to brush the seminal moment of 20th century Irish history under the carpet. It really goes to show the snivelling, treacherous thought system held by FG and Labour. Here’s a great post by An Sionnach Fionn dissecting the infamy. An independent, non-government real celebration anyone?